Point to Point
by Percival T. Honeybee
Summary: This is my version of a continuation of Portal 2. The same story can be found on Deviantart under the name Sigma Elain.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1- Silence

Iris sighed in the crowded darkness. It was a mechanical sound, the sound of gears expelling air. It was the closest to a sigh Iris could get considering she was a personality core. Sighing had never seemed odd to her, but after thinking a while in the darkness she realized that sighing was more of a human's thing than a robot's.

The sound of another explosion went off like a scream. This one was closer than the last judging by the rattling machinery. GLaDOS was in one of her moods again.

These days, just about anything would send GLaDOS into a rage. Iris knew it wasn't GLaDOS's fault; something was wrong with her. She had been getting these "glitching episodes" for three years now. It had started only as a minute or two of spasms, but now GLaDOS would be a volcano of fury more often than not.

Iris sighed and looked at her surroundings again. Being a personality core, she was stuck in one position and couldn't move unless moved. The only thing she could do was rotate in her original position to face a different way. As a result, her days in confinement were mind numbing.

Iris was surrounded by the empty shells of other personality cores on all sides but one. These cores were the outcasts; the poorly made spheres. They were the embarrassments that were stuffed in a bin so no one could see them.

Iris was put at the bottom of the pile, with only a small window to see her surroundings. This gap in the sphere's bodies made it possible to get a glimpse of the facility.

As far as Iris knew, she was the last working core in the entire bin. All the rest had been disabled with time. There had only been three cores that were still functional, but they were no longer in the bin. They had been kidnapped by a human.

A loud bang startled Iris from her thoughts. It was the sound of something lightweight, probably a turret, smacking against the bullet proof glass of the bin. Iris swiveled to face the noise, but could see nothing.

"Hello?" Iris called, her auto tuned voice echoing off the cold walls.

A voice answered back. It was a cheery, high-pitched feminine voice that Iris recognized. It was Sparks

"Heeeello! How are you?"

Sparks made herself known by jumping out from behind a corner. She had done this at least a thousand times, always thinking that it would scare Iris. It never did.

"Hi Iris! You were scared, weren't you? Ha, I knew it. I scared you, didn't I?" Said Sparks. Iris rolled her optic lens.

Sparks giggled and came closer to the glass wall. Her red eye glowed with naive happiness, which made Iris laugh too. She loved her friend's cheery personality.

"Hey Iris, I saw Atlas and P-body testing earlier today. That means that Persephone and Conrad have the day off. They should be here soon."

Many things had changed since the Lady left. GLaDOS found that human test subjects were more fragile than she realized, so she went to work trying to create more robots like Atlas and P-body. After analyzing their blueprints, she created improved versions of the two bi-pedal robots.

GLaDOS made three different improved versions, each with their own model name. The only big difference between them and the old robots was that they were actually personality cores, but now with a body to walk around in. They were removable, but unable to control their bodies if unattached.

The first one created was Persephone. She was the Compassion core, and had a purple optic lens. Persephone was given a feminine body that looked a bit like a cylinder, and a spot to put herself right in the center.

The second robot created was Conrad. Conrad was the language core, and he had a green optic lens. He was given a more masculine body that looked like a brick. Conrad and Persephone were meant to be a pair that solved tests together, much like Atlas and P-body.

The last robot created was Orpheus. Orpheus was the negotiation core, and he had a white optic lens. Orpheus was given a body that looked like a smaller version of Atlas's. He was a standoffish core that liked to solve tests by himself, relying on his own smarts. Orpheus and Iris didn't talk very often, so she didn't know much else about him.

Since the robots created were better than the old ones, GLaDOS also made more advanced opposition for them. She made a new type of turret: the soldier turret. Unlike previous turrets, the soldier turret had a humanoid form, and could move independently. They were also not as easily defeated at the previous turrets, and they moved in groups that were commanded by GLaDOS. Sparks happened to be a soldier turret, one of the only friendly ones.

"Hey look! They're here! Hi Persephone, hi Conrad." Said Sparks.

Out of the shadows came the two robots, each carrying their own portal guns. Their white bodies glistened in the dim light, and they walked over with easy grace. This show of perfection made Iris envious for a moment; she would love to have a moving body of her own. That moment vanished quickly. She wouldn't let herself dream of something she couldn't have.

"G'morning you two. Man, am I glad I have the day off. I just about short-circuited the other day trying to figure out that last test." Said Conrad.

"I thought that was funny. I've never seen you so worked up." Replied Persephone. Conrad gave Persephone an unhappy look and crossed his arms, but he continued,

"GLaDOS has gone kinda crazy with making us do tests. Once she even threatened to take away our vacation days. I'm worn out." Conrad grumbled.

"Well, there hasn't been very much for her to do since the Lady left." Said Iris.

The others became silent. They didn't know how talk about the Lady; they hadn't existed when she had lived there. All she was to them was some magical lunatic that caused problems for the most powerful robot they had ever known. It had been a long time since she left, about seven years to be exact.

Sparks was the first to break the silence with a giggle. She proceeded to tell the others about a "funny" joke she came up with during her break.

"What do you call a robot with a portal gun? A test subject!"

The others laughed as if it were the funniest joke they've ever heard. Iris didn't see how it was a joke at all, but she laughed anyway.

They continued to talk for most of the day, mostly about trivial things. They had no obligations, and it was pleasant just to be in each other's company.

Unfortunately, the peace had an end.

A turret payed them a visit with a message from GLaDOS. The turret had surprised them from the shadows, walking as quietly as possible. He stared at them with an emotionless expression, which disturbed Iris.

"Good day," said the turret, "I have a message for Sparks from the head of the facility, GLaDOS."

The four other robots were silent. What could GLaDOS possibly want? The turret continued, unaware of their confusion.

"Turret number 482, nicknamed "Sparks", is scheduled to meet GLaDOS in her main chamber along with the rest of the 501st squadron tomorrow morning. Thank you, and goodnight."

With that the turret sped away into the darkness of the hallway. Iris was relieved when he left; his metallic voice was beginning to grate on her audio receivers.

"What do ya think she wants you for?" Asked Conrad. Persephone, Conrad and Iris were concerned for their friend; GLaDOS was unpredictable these days. It wouldn't be the first time that GLaDOS had ordered turrets to her chamber only to kill them.

With an apparent fear in her voice, Sparks replied,

"Nothing good."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- The Plan

Sparks hurried along the dark corridors of the facility. Her speedy walk echoed in the darkness, making her more agitated.

Sparks moved quickly; she was afraid to slow down in case GLaDOS punished her for being late, but she didn't want to rush if GLaDOS planned to kill her. The mix of feelings confused her.

Sparks was sure that if she could, she would be crying right then. Sparks was terrified. What if she died? She was certain there was an android Hell, but she wasn't so sure about android Heaven.

Sparks continued through the halls and arrived at the main entrance. The door was gigantic compared to her small figure, which didn't help her feeling of impending doom.

"I'm here! Let me in." She called.

In response to her voice the door slid upward revealing the chamber. Sparks hurried in to take her place in the line of turrets, embarrassed to be the last one there.

"Thank-you for showing up on time." Growled GLaDOS. She gave Sparks a glare and continued,

"You were sent here to receive an important mission." Began GLaDOS. Sparks looked up at GLaDOS with interest. None of the turrets had been given a mission for at least two years. Why did GLaDOS suddenly need them?

"Your mission isn't anything complicated. All you have to do is a little spring cleaning."

GLaDOS's voice started to fizzle, which made her hard to understand. Vocal glitches were not a good sign. Even her term "spring cleaning" sounded menacing. GLaDOS continued,

"I need you all to get rid of the useless garbage lying around in sector five. The bin there is full to the brim with junk. I want you all to empty it into the incinerator."

Sparks gasped in shock. GLaDOS wanted them to empty the defective core bin, along with Iris and the other dead cores.

"Is something wrong, 482?" Asked GLaDOS. The other turrets stared at Sparks, making her uncomfortable. Yes, something was very wrong. Perhaps GLaDOS just didn't know that Iris was still alive. Maybe she could save Iris from a fiery death if she pleaded with GLaDOS.

"Um, well—yes there is something wrong. You see ma'am, there's still one core in the defective bin that's not dead." Squeaked Sparks. GLaDOS glared and brought her face close to Sparks.

"Does it look like I care? It's ALL junk. Destroy it all." Snapped GLaDOS. Sparks stayed deathly silent after that. "You will begin tomorrow morning. Don't fail me." She finished.

Sparks's mind was reeling as she left the chamber. Sparks would never forgive herself if she let her friend get incinerated. She had to save Iris, but she didn't know how.

"Iris! Iris!" Called Sparks. Iris opened her optic lens and spotted Sparks.

"Oh Sparks! Thank goodness your alive. I thought GLaDOS was going to kill you." Said Iris, but Sparks didn't seem to be listening to her. Instead, she kept blathering random phrases,

"Help—I—you, well... you see... GLaDOS, danger—incineration!"

"Sparks, slow down! What are you saying?"

"The 501st squadron is scheduled to incinerate you tomorrow morning!" Blurted Sparks.

Iris was silent. Sparks waited for her to respond, but she didn't. Finally she managed to squeak out,

"Oh no..."

"Now don't worry, Iris. We can figure this out. Maybe we could, um..."

A crash from behind interrupted their conversation. Four large robots made their way to the bin, all talking in joyful tones.

"Hey Iris! Howdy Sparks! Orpheus is testing today, so we all got the day off..." Conrad's voice dropped off when he spotted their expressions. "Hey, y'all okay?"

Iris looked at them solemnly. Persephone rushed over with concern,

"What happened? Sparks, what's wrong?"

"Well," Sparks hesitated, "I have some bad news. GLaDOS is having one of her glitching episodes again and she ordered us to destroy everything in the defective core bin, Iris included."

P-body took a step back, aghast. Atlas caught P-body's attention and they began exchanging robotic chatter rapidly, looking quite distressed.

"Well that's downright awful," Said Conrad, "but what can we do about it?"

"We could—um... well..." Mumbled Sparks. Everyone else was quiet in thought while Sparks thought out loud. It seemed like an eternity passed before someone spoke up.

"I have a plan. Don't get me wrong, it's super dangerous and probably won't work, but at least it's something." Said Conrad.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"No way. It's not gonna happen Conrad, not in a million years."

"Stop yappin' at me! You wanted an answer and I gave you one. It'll be simple. All we have to do is switch your core with Persephone's, then once you have her body you can follow us to the bowels of the facility. GLaDOS will have a harder time spottin' us there."

"And once we get there the turrets corner us, right?"

"Naw, we escape through a tunnel P-body and Atlas spotted during their testing in the bowels. It most likely leads to the surface."

"Most likely, huh?"

"Yep."

Iris eyed Conrad skeptically. She didn't like going through with a dangerous plan that had unknown factors, but she didn't want to be incinerated either. If this plan was her only shot at survival, she'd take it.

"What will happen to Persephone?" Asked Iris.

"We'll leave her in the bin as a decoy. The turrets should notice that Persephone's in the bin instead if you, so she'll be ok." Answered Conrad.

"What about me? What should I do?" Pestered Sparks, who was trembling with excitement.

"You can...well—um..." Faltered Conrad. Sparks stared at him with her full attention. "Oh, I know! You can stall."

"Stall?"

"Ya... You can visit GLaDOS in her chamber and talk to her. Make sure to keep her distracted so we can escape, ok Sparks?"

Sparks's excitement vanished as soon as GLaDOS's name was mentioned. Instead, she became tense and gave a slow nod.

Conrad clapped his hands together and said,

"All right. Let's get to work."

* * *

><p>"I'm ready! We can start the transfer." Called Persephone.<p>

"I'll do it as soon as Iris stops being a chicken. It's either this or incineration, so let me put you in the dang body!"

"Fine!" Seethed Iris. She hated being told what to do.

With help from Atlas, Conrad grabbed Persephone's core and popped it from the middle of her body. Persephone's core came loose like a plucked apple, and as soon as she was disconnected her body froze in place.

"Come on now darlin', it's time to put ya in your new body." Said Conrad.

Iris felt a rush of fear and excitement. She couldn't believe that she was getting a body of her own. Iris could move beyond her sad little bin now. In a way, she was free.

P-body grabbed Iris from a portal inside the bin and traveled back to the outside where the body was. Iris was then handed to Conrad, and eventually plugged into Persephone's body.

Iris gasped as a whole new range of motion opened up to her. She staggered forward in her new body, waving her limbs in a frenzy.

"Whoa, careful there." Said Conrad as he steadied her. "Now just take a second and try to get used to things. I hope you get a hang of this soon, because GLaDOS might realize we're not at our posts any minute now. I hope Sparks is okay."

* * *

><p>Sparks sat under GLaDOS's menacing stare, hoping with all her heart that everything would work according to plan. She had no idea how she was going to stall GLaDOS. To her horror, Sparks realized that she would just have to make it up as she went along.<p>

"What do you want? Did you have a problem with your mission?" Grunted GLaDOS. To Sparks's dismay, GLaDOS appeared to have a short temper right now. Sparks scrambled for an answer.

"N—no, I just have an important progress report about the bin project." Mumbled Sparks. 'Lies! Lies! She'll see right through that.' Yelled Spark's mind.

"I never asked for a progress report."

"Oh—well um..."

Sparks started to panic. If GLaDOS saw through her stalling it would all be over. She would be killed, and so would all her friends. This fact almost sent her over the edge.

"However, since you're already here you can tell me how the job is going." Said GLaDOS. Sparks sighed in relief; GLaDOS bought her lie. "Let me just check up on Green and Purple." She added.

Sparks worked herself into a panic again. The plan would go downhill once GLaDOS realized Persephone and Conrad weren't testing!

"482, I noticed something. The turrets haven't begun their mission yet. Why are you here?"

Sparks couldn't answer, and she was silent as GLaDOS checked the rest of the facility. This was it. Sparks had failed.

'I'm sorry guys...' thought Sparks.

"Where are Green and Purple? Where's Orange and Blue?" Howled GLaDOS. Her voice was beginning to fizzle, only adding to Sparks's despair. "There's Persephone... why on Earth is she in the bin?" Questioned GLaDOS. She stopped abruptly when Sparks whimpered in response.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Did you're little friend really think she could escape? I'll just have to show you how wrong you all were." Growled GLaDOS.

An alarm went off, filling the chamber with noise.

"607th squadron, I have a mission for you. Exterminate the rouge AI, let no one escape. Oh, and another thing: escort turret 482 and the rest of the 501st squadron to android Hell immediately."

"No, stop! You can't do this! Iris, run for your life!" Shouted Sparks as she was dragged brutally away from the chamber. These were the last words she uttered before the gunfire started.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"It should be just over there." Said Conrad, pointing at a hidden crevice. Iris fired a portal at their current location and another at a lower level. Without hesitation, all four of them entered the portal and came out the other side.

They had been traveling for hours now, slowly making their way through the labyrinth of wreckage. It was sometimes difficult to find their way, because where they were going wasn't exactly mapped. There were often no walkways to their next destination, so all four of them had to improvise with their portals. Now, after traversing the facility for miles they were finally close to their target.

They followed close behind one another, all afraid of their own shadows. They knew GLaDOS's turrets were trailing them, they just didn't know how close they were.

"Come on, freedom is just through this hole." Said Conrad. Iris came up next to Conrad and took a look at their escape tunnel. It seemed too small to fit through, but when Conrad pushed on the surrounding dirt it gave way to reveal a good sized hole. P-body and Atlas started to help him claw away the dirt blocking the crevice, and quickly a passageway was revealed.

"Time to go?" Asked Iris. Conrad nodded and walked through the entrance.

Iris followed Conrad through the cramped hole and continued to walk through the small man made tunnel. She could tell it was man made because there were uneven gouges in the concrete. Not only that, but there were also painted pictures on the walls. The pictures appeared to flow as a story with undecipherable words here and there.

First there was a picture of an outdated turret firing bullets at a male human, with the words "blinded by hate" above. Next was a picture of a girl, most likely the Lady. If Iris followed the story right, it looked like the male human was injured put himself in some sort of sleeping pod, and then was awoken later by... flip switches. There was a drawing of many flip switches in a cylinder room, all being flipped at the same time. Iris remembered that GLaDOS was switched on accidentally by the Lady; perhaps this man was switched on too.

After that it showed a man escaping to darkness, most likely the bowels of the facility, and making a tunnel with a scrap of metal. Last there was a picture of a yellow circle and a man standing underneath it. That last picture puzzled Iris; what could the yellow circle possibly be?

A harsh scraping sound sent Iris into high alert.

"What was that?" Asked Iris. The others went silent trying to listen for the sound. After a while, Conrad relaxed.

"It was probably just some rocks fallin'. Nothing to have a cow over. Let's just keep goin', I think we're almost there." Replied Conrad. Wary, Iris nodded. She was about to follow him when a high female voice sounded from behind,

"There you are. Target locked."

A volley of shots fired from behind the group, but because they were mostly hidden by a turn in the tunnel it missed them.

"Kill Green and that other core. Now that I know their position I'll take care of Blue and Orange." Hissed GLaDOS. Her voice came from a microphone on the lead turret's body.

A moment after GLaDOS spoke, P-body and Atlas exploded. Iris screamed, horrified. She had forgotten they were built with a retrievable self-destruct feature. Fortunately, Conrad's and Persephone's bodies weren't built with that feature.

"Ready, fire."

"Get down!" Yelled Conrad. He tackled Iris and pushed her flat to the ground. The bullets whizzed over her head and struck something solid above her. Iris tried to convince herself that the solid object wasn't Conrad.

Iris gazed up in disbelief as Conrad short-circuited, twitched, and collapsed on the cold ground. Conrad's gaze connected with Iris's even though his optic lens was dotted with bullet holes. His expression said one thing,

"Survive."

Conrad jerked and mumbled random phrases in many different languages, then finally slowed to a stop. The realization of what happened hit Iris when his optic lens went dark.

"Conrad! No! Don't leave me." Iris cried out. Why did he have to leave her all alone?

"Target locked." Warned the turrets. Iris looked up at them with hate and clenched her fists.

Not wasting a moment, Iris turned and ran down the tunnel. The turrets sensed her flight and followed after her, gaining on her quickly. Iris frantically raced for the end of the tunnel. If she could reach the end, she would be safe. Iris told herself this as she made her flight further into the blackness, the sound of pursuers driving her forward.

Iris's hopes plummeted when she reached a dead end. No, it couldn't be right. There was supposed to be an exit!

Iris felt around the edges of a dozen huge rocks that blocked her path. It was a complete wall, all except for a slit of light at the ceiling that revealed the night sky.

Iris collapsed with defeat and sobbed into her arms. Why did things have to be this way? Iris would have taken another decade in the bin over this any day. Now she was going to die in the tunnel with her friends.

The turrets caught up and shined their beams in the cramped space to find a target. In no time at all, they spotted Iris and readied their guns. Iris took another look at the slit in the rocks and sighed. She could almost see a white disc in the sky, which her analyzers quickly labled as the moon.

The word "moon" connected with several of her memory files, which puzzled her. She then realized that the only other place she had heard the word "moon" was when conversion gel was mentioned. Iris gasped at this revelation.

"Target locked."

Iris scrambled to raise her portal gun, and without a second thought she fired it at the moon.

The turrets were flung backwards and sucked out of the hole in complete chaos. Many turrets malfunctioned and fired bullets at each other. Iris was in the middle of the chaos, and she was having a difficult time finding where her connecting portal to the moon was. In the turbulence, Iris was finally able to spot her portal she previously planted on the wall.

Even though the turrets tried to stop her, Iris was met with little resistance and managed to claw herself through her portal and onto the moon.

To stop the vacuum, she fired both her portals on the surface of the moon. Iris knew this would trap her, but at least she would be safe from GLaDOS.

Iris sat down on the dusty surface of the moon and gazed at Earth. The lack of sound in space was unnerving to her at first, but eventually the quiet calmed her.

The moon would have been paradise, but something was still making Iris uncomfortable. It took her a moment to figure it out, but she became even more frightened when she realized what was wrong. Iris had the feeling that someone was watching her.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Iris kicked a rock in frustration. She had been stuck on the moon for one Earth week, and Iris was getting tired of it. It wouldn't have been so bad if her friends were there with her, but she left them behind in the grip of a homicidal super computer. Iris had no idea what happened to Sparks and Persephone. They were probably dead and it was all her fault. In anger, Iris fired a dozen random portals at Earth, none of them sticking.

She finally sat on the ground in defeat and moaned. Iris was grateful there was no sound in space, because she would be mortified if anyone caught her moping. If anything, they would just see a depressed robot sitting in the dirt. Iris wondered if there was even anyone else on the moon. It felt like something was watching her that first day, but that feeling was gone now.

Iris gazed at Earth and tried to relax. She told herself that there was nothing she could do for her friends, and it was useless to worry about them. Instead, she focused her attention on the planet in front of her.

Earth looked rather like a marble, she decided, with its round shape and swirling colors. Her mind lingered on the thought. What if the whole universe was simply a gigantic game of marbles? If that were the case, nothing in her "life" really mattered. The idea made her feel insignificant.

The moment of peace was shattered when text started to type out across Iris's optic lens. Iris jumped with alarm and put a hand on her face.

'What is this? Is this a—oh... wait a second...' thought Iris, 'Could this be a message?'

Iris found that she could read the text marching across her optic lens. It appeared to be a transmission. Iris guessed that it probably came from another robot since nothing else was advanced enough to communicate through text on its own.

The message read:

"SPACE... BIG... LADY THING. HEY LADY. HEY LADY. LADY LOOK UP LOOK UP LOOK IM HERE! SPACE BUDDY. CRASHED. ON MOON. SPaCe. SEE!"

After the absurd message followed a photo of a hole... no, a black crater. Judging by the picture, the crater was on the moon and not too far away from where she was. Iris sent the AI a reply:

"So let me get this straight; you want me to help your friend out, and he's stuck in the crater?"

She was surprised how easily she formulated the text and sent it to the robot. It was almost like thinking and saying out loud, except it was in written form. Iris hardly thought about it.

"YES." Replied the AI.

Iris took another glance at the photo and got to her feet. She might as well help this strange robot out since she had nothing better to do. Moping about her problems wasn't going to help them, and what better way to get her mind off the situation than helping an AI in need?

"Alright, I'll do it." Iris replied.

"SppAacCCcEe." Wrote the AI.

'Either that robot is corrupted, or it has the brain of a toaster.' Thought Iris. She wondered if this robot's friend was similar.

Iris immediately began to search for the mysterious "space buddy". She analyzed the picture and tried to match it up to where she was. It was difficult at first, but after she found a few landmarks she recognized it was easy to pinpoint his location. The "space buddy" seemed to be precisely two miles away from where she was.

Iris began to jog toward the crater, being careful to go the right direction. It was a strange sensation to run on the moon. It was almost like moving through syrup because of the small amount of gravity.

While she was jogging, Iris thought back to her conversation with the unusual robot. She didn't know why, but the AI seemed terribly familiar. Iris was too frazzled to figure it out, though.

After a half an hour of jogging, Iris finally made it to the crash sight. She would have made it there faster, but running with low gravity was difficult.

Iris inspected the blackened area around the hole and peered in with caution. She had no idea what this thing could be, and she didn't want to get killed after all the trouble of escaping GLaDOS.

Iris gasped with surprise. It looked like her. The "space buddy" was a core.

She backed away and hid behind a large rock, her face in her hands. How did this core get on the moon? It looked as though it was as old as she was, but it had been in space longer. The only possible way the core could have gotten on the moon was through the use of portals, she decided. There weren't any space ships in Aperture Science. Just how long had it been there, how did it get there, and why did it go to the moon?

'All these questions aren't going to answer themselves,' thought Iris, 'I might as well take another look.'

Iris peeked at the sphere again, her optic lens just barely edging out from the crater. She was frightened by this whole experience and was being very cautious.

After a few minutes of staring at the mute core, she she realized it was in sleep mode. Sleep mode was a feature that allowed a core to conserve energy after a harmful experience. The crash landing on the moon must have been rough.

Iris gathered her courage and poked the sphere. When nothing happened, she decided the core was safe and started to dig it out. After enough dirt was clear, Iris grabbed it and pulled with all her might. The core was still wedged in the rocks tightly, so when it came free the two of them flew back and hit the ground.

She smacked the ground hard and slid, getting a gray dirt stripe up her back. Iris sat up and put the other core on the ground beside her, feeling stupid.

"Find SPACE BUDDY? SPACE!"

Iris glanced at the message and replied,

"Yes, I found your Space Buddy."

The other robot seemed to be satisfied with her answer, because it didn't communicate back. Now that she thought about it, the other AI was probably a core as well. Perhaps it got stuck in space with the other core.

Iris's attention turned back to the other core, which was still sitting beside her as still as a rock. Iris picked it up and analyzed it, looking at every little detail. She found that the core's optic lens was cracked in the middle, and it had various scrapes and dents. Thanks to her perceptive vision, Iris also noticed that there was a blinking green light next to a button on the core's top. Out of mere curiosity, Iris pushed the button. When the light turned off, she assumed she had broken something. Iris berated herself for her rash actions and sighed.

What she least expected was the core to come to life. The core's eyelid blinked and the color came back to its optic lens. It looked around and squinted, getting a good look at her, almost as if to make sure she was real. When the core came to grips with its surroundings, it locked eyes with Iris and was silent. Iris was so stunned she didn't know how to react. All of a sudden, the core gave her a message in a frenzy of words:

"What's going on? Where am I—what have you done to me—what... who are you?"

"AAAAHHH!" Screamed Iris. She couldn't think of any better phrase to describe her absolute surprise.

"AAAAHHH!" Replied the core. Its blue optic lens shrank in terror and he started to shake.

"Oh no, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." Apologized Iris. The sphere stopped quivering and glanced at her again, this time really looking at her. The core's expression told Iris that it didn't quite trust her.

"What's your name?" Asked Iris, trying to seem friendly.

"Well, if we're starting off with formal introductions, my name's Wheatley. Nothing too flashy—and yours?"

"Er—my name is Iris."

"Nice to meet you, complete stranger—forgive me if I seem rude, but what happened? Last I remember, I was hurtling towards... oh. Nevermind then."

"Your friend in space told me you needed. some help, so I fished you out of the crater and here you are."

"Well how did you get here? Getting to the moon isn't exactly an easy thing."

Iris tried to type out her story a few times, but she ended up erasing it so much that she just gave up.

"It's complicated." Replied Iris.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Wow. That's quite the adventure you had there."

Iris nodded in reply. She had spent an entire two hours recounting what happened to her in the facility, and she felt oddly relieved. Iris hadn't realized just how much had happened to her until she wrote it out and explained everything. It was wonderful to get that burden off her chest.

While she was telling her story, Iris worked hard to get hints about Wheatley's past. The little core had not mentioned anything about his story since she met him, and he didn't seem keen on sharing it. As a result, Iris was dying of curiosity. Iris had described the facility in detail to try to get a reaction out of him, but it only worked once. The only thing he told her was that he was surprised that GLaDOS had lost her marbles. If that surprised him, than he must have left right around when the Lady left the facility, because that was when GLaDOS started to show signs of deterioration. That information just made her more curious.

"So... now that I've told my story I think it's about time you told yours." Said Iris.

Wheatley looked down, as if ashamed. Iris wondered if she said something wrong.

"Oh—well, I don't know if my story is all that interesting. You don't want to hear it, trust me. It's just garbage really..."

Iris stared at him silently. The words in her look said everything.

"Alright, fine. Have it your way." Said Wheatley, exasperated. Iris looked at him smugly, only making him more annoyed. Wheatley narrowed his eye and continued,

"Well, I guess my story starts in the facility. I was living there, minding my own business, when I noticed that the place was broken down. It was quite shocking, really, so I said to to myself that it was time to do something about it. I decided to escape, but that's a hard thing to do when your a ball with no legs. I figured that I needed someone with legs to help me, and the first thing I thought of was a human, so I went and found a few humans that were in some sort of stasis. They all died of course, the bloody things don't live very long. Only one of them survived; a lady—"

"The Lady!" Cried Iris. She blinked away the huge page of text on her optic lens and looked at Wheatley again. Of course, everything made sense now. The Lady had only escaped with the help of a robot. Iris also knew that there had been another core that took GLaDOS's place as head of the facility and almost blew the place up afterwards. Who else could replace GLaDOS with another core except for a human? The other cores were powerless against GLaDOS's mobility. If Wheatley was with the Lady, then he must have been the core that took over as the head of the facility. Iris gasped.

"You're the takeover guy!" Exclaimed Iris.

"Eh—what?"

"Your the core that took over the facility with the lady! You almost blew up Aperture Science, you moron! You could have killed us all."

"Moron's a harsh word, don't you think? I'm not a moron."

"Sorry, I got carried away. What happened anyway? I was stuck in a bin when all the exciting stuff happened."

Wheatley gave a tired expression, as if he had a burden on his shoulders. Iris couldn't decide what was wrong at first, but it clicked after a moment of thinking. He felt guilty about something.

After a minute of hesitation, Wheatley began his story. Iris sat and listened carefully, sometimes asking questions. He was wary of Iris and watched her expression as he typed the story. Perhaps he was afraid that her opinion of him would plummet. The opposite happened, however. Instead, she was full of sympathy for his situation.

"... and if I could take it all back, I would. I wouldn't have met you though, so I'm grateful for that."

"Hmm..."

"What? What is it? Is there something the matter?"

"I don't think you betraying the Lady was entirely your fault."

"What d'you mean? Of course it was my fault—"

"No, I mean your behavior. You said as soon as you were connected to the mainframe, you felt much more aggressive and paranoid. I think that was the mainframe's fault. You know how GLaDOS is losing it? Everyone in the facility suspects that her mainframe has gone severely corrupt. That may have been your problem; the mainframe was too corrupt to handle, so you were bent to its will."

"You just may be right, but I don't think that excuses my actions at all. I truly am sorry..."

Wheatley went on some more about his actions, but Iris wasn't paying attention. This notion of the mainframe having a will of its own fascinated Iris, even if it was far-fetched.

"Hey, are you ignoring me?"

"Huh—what?" Iris asked.

"I said, I wonder if your friends are safe. I never had many friends, really. Why even have friends when you've got yourself? I bet—" Wheatley began, but Iris stopped him from a lengthy monologue.

"—I don't know. They're probably not safe." Replied Iris.

This fact sobered them, and they were quiet for a minute. Iris didn't want to dwell on this fact, however and started a new conversation.

They continued to talk until the Earth made one full rotation. It was during this conversation that Iris remembered where she had seen Wheatley before, and why the other core out in space seemed so familiar.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Well, I think it's safe to say our experiment was a success. Lark, you owe me five bucks."

"Not yet, pal. Let's see if she works first."

A flood of thoughts came into the nameless core's head. Who were these voices? What were bucks?

At the push of a button, color and movement rushed into the core's input receivers. The world came alive, and it was overwhelming for the new core.

"Wow. Nice turn on sequence. The rainbow flash around the core's iris adds just the right touch." Said one.

"Ya, I just thought it was fitting since she's the imagination core and all. Rainbows represent imagination in a way." Replied the other.

The core looked from one thing to the next; everything was a new experience. However, what caught the core's attention the most were the strange creatures in front of it.

The creatures were very tall, and they towered above the core. It was frightening at first, but they looked so kind the core couldn't help but like them. They wore some sort of white covering, and they had a short mop of fibers sprouting out of their tops. The core was surprised to find that there were more than two of them. The creatures were everywhere.

The two creatures were fun to look at, but it unnerved the core that they weren't doing anything. They just stood there staring at the core, like they were expecting something. It made the core very uncomfortable. After a while of waiting, the core lost its patience.

"Well what are you looking at? Are you just gonna stand there? I gotta be honest, I'm getting bored."

The creatures burst into cheers and clapped, frightening the core.

"What! What did I say?" Cried the core.

"You said just the right thing. Welcome to Aperture Science, and you Lark owe me five bucks." Said the first creature.

The other creature, Lark, handed the other something green. Perhaps it was food?

"You are a robot, or artificial intelligence. You'll know more in a moment once we get the information flash drive hooked up to you." Explained Lark.

The core didn't understand what they were talking about, but it sounded exciting.

"Oh, and one more thing," said the other, "your name is Iris."

"Iris?" Asked the core.

"Yeah, kinda like the rainbow goddess. Or the colored part of an eyeball. Whichever you prefer." Said Lark.

Without much warning, a different creature plugged something into her backside. Knowledge accumulated in her mind, giving everything she saw a name. The first thing she learned was that the creatures were called humans.

"My name is Thomas," said the other human, "and I am your creator."

"Nice to meet you, Thomas—"

A loud yell interrupted their conversation. On a table beside Iris was another sphere that was going crazy. Its yellow optic lens went from one thing to the next so quickly, Iris was surprised that it didn't fall apart.

"Jerry, will you please keep your core under control? I'm trying to have a conversation here." Remarked Thomas.

"I'm sorry Thomas, but he is the obsessive core and all. If he didn't get a little screwy I'd be worried." Replied Jerry. He shrugged nonchalantly and Thomas snorted in response.

"I'll see you around, Thomas." Said Lark. He packed his things and gave Thomas a small wave.

"See you around, Lark." Replied Thomas. With that Lark left the table and headed out the doors of the room.

A loud voice on her right made Iris shout with alarm. She swiveled to face the noise and saw a core being turned on for the first time. He was a carefree-looking core with a bright blue eye that took in everything.

"Woooow! This—this is really something! I mean, just look at all of you. You're huge! This is fantastic."

Iris giggled at the core's remarks. Not only did he speak his mind, but he also had a strange way of talking. The word came to her mind; an accent. English West country, or something like that.

The group of scientists surrounding him laughed and patted each other on the back. The core didn't know what was going on, but he cheered anyway.

"Give him an information drive," said a scientist, "this may be our best idea yet."

"What should we call him? IDS isn't a very creative name." Remarked one scientist. The others in the group nodded.

"How about Pendleton?" Said another.

"No, that's too long and flashy. It has to be something simple." Advised the first. The other scientists were stumped at this revelation. All they knew were complicated formulas and procedures.

At that moment, the first scientist spotted a bread sack in the trash bin. On the front were the words, "Simply Wheat Bakeries".

"Hey... how about we call him Wheatley?" He said.

"Wheatley?" Asked the second.

"Yeah, we can name him after Phillis Wheatley, the poet." The first scientist decided. Everyone in the group seemed to agree with the name, so it stayed.

More humans gathered around the table, so Iris couldn't get another glimpse of the core. Iris was glad that the humans didn't crowd her table—she would feel shy under their scrutiny. A harsh voice from behind interrupted Iris's thoughts,

"Ah, Mr. Rockwell. It's good to see that you're wasting our money, as usual."

Thomas turned around and straightened his tie, looking at the man behind Iris nervously. Iris rotated to get a look at the man and soon regretted it. When she faced the man, Iris got a stare so cold she thought she would freeze. The human's icy eyes locked with her optic lens, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't look away.

He was a very old human; she could tell because he had wrinkles that hung off his face. Gray hairs covered his head, all except for a bald spot on the top. He looked like a thin lizard, except with a beak for a nose. Thomas seemed to be intimidated by him.

"Oh no Professor Randolf, I'm sure this one is a keeper. She's progressing very well." Assured Thomas. Iris noticed that he was talking very fast, and he had his hands clasped tightly.

"What is this core's attribute?" Asked Randolf, still looking skeptical.

"She's supposed to be the imagination core. Her name is Iris."

"And what, pray tell, are we supposed to do with an imagination core?"

"We could, well... um..."

"Exactly. The last thing we need is to make GLaDOS more powerful. Once we get her under control, then we can think of ways to improve her performance. Bad thinking on your part, Thomas. Until then you can put her to work. Give the core a simple job she can do until she's needed."

"Yes sir, Professor Randolf."

As the professor walked away, Thomas bowed his face in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry Iris," he mumbled, "I guess I wasn't thinking. You'll have to work on the maintenance crew or something until you're needed."

Iris nodded and gave Thomas a consoling look.

Professor Randolf visited the table with the obsessive core and shouted at Jerry,

"What were you thinking? Do you want to make GLaDOS obsessive compulsive as well as homicidal? You're a disgrace. Get that core a job on the maintenance crew."

Iris laughed. She guessed that this wouldn't be the last time she would see the obsessive core.

...

Iris blinked as the memory faded away. She had recently begun sifting through her memory files for information on Wheatley, but she had found nothing. Instead, she found memory recordings of important moments in her life. It was a special attribute of cores; they could store memories in their ROM files. There were several recordings, and she had recently watched the first. After watching the memory, she recalled where she first saw Wheatley and the other core. Iris felt triumphant that she had made such a discovery.

"Hello? Are you all right there? Don't go blanking out on me." Said Wheatley, who was sitting beside her.

"Oh sorry, I was just looking through my files. It's amazing how much junk piles up in there." Replied Iris. In her mind, Iris resolved to watch all of her memories. With them, she could remember things she had forgotten from ten years ago. She was curious as to what secrets the memories held.


End file.
